Charbon Shore // [District One] CB - Fin

I look like her, but I am not her. I need you to know that, before you know anything else. It's not just the golden hair, the round eyes, the base flare of the nose to the fullness of her lips. It's something deeper, something I can't escape. Our bodies are the same, flesh and blood, and nothing else.

Privilege has alluded me. It seems that no matter what advantage is afforded to me is instantly negated by familial strife. If I am lucky to be a Shore, I am equally unlucky to be that sort of a Shore. My siblings and I know the peculiar predicament of being caught between the halves of our names. It's the reason I now sign official documents with Charbon S~~~. The squiggles will do for the Peacekeepers, and for myself, I am not a traitor. I am only Charbon.

I am not her.

I would never be so reckless, so proud. The shadows comfort me, because the light is full of shame. What happened to divide us divides us still, and yet it is become so petty. A house divided cannot stand, but it will make the headlines. I refuse to participate, refuse to speak up in class or meet people's gazes. I want the quiet, the peace that comes with building little gardens, stacking pebbles to form waterfalls. I do not want to be alone, but I also do not want the burden of being her cousin. But if I am not the outcast black sheep, who am I?

- Charbon S~~~